To the Editor:

Rachel Carson, legendary scientist and writer, made this profound statement in her 1962 classic environmental book Silent Spring: “We are accustomed to look for the gross and immediate and to ignore all else. Unless this appears promptly and in such obvious form that it cannot be ignored, we deny the existence of hazard.” This statement is referring to the hazards of exposure to chemicals used unwisely in/on our environment. 

To me, a U.S. Navy veteran, this scientific observation can certainly be applied to our current crisis with Russian election meddling. The least expensive phase of almost all crises is prevention (if prevention is at all possible). Since we did not prevent Russian meddling we have entered into the more expensive phase — minimization of damage that has already occurred. This phase is severely complicated by the fact that Donald Trump doesn’t just express doubt about the analyses of our intelligence agencies, he steadfastly denies the accuracy of them all. Sadly, he doesn’t even propose deterrence to Ukrainian meddling that he himself falsely alleges. Can you show us any patriotism in that?

Thus, Trump has failed to prevent anyone from meddling and he continues to refuse to spearhead an effort to minimize the Russian damage that has already occurred. We are, therefore, entering into the most difficult and expensive phase of our disaster-correction. 

If our democracy is to survive, we must begin vigorous operations to secure our 2020 elections. We must prevent further erosion that Trump has ignored at our peril. This Congress must awaken to the danger that Trump has created by cooperating with Vladimir Putin!

Dave Waldrop

Webster